Ignition apparatus



Aprilv s, 1947. J, R, FRE. 2,418,505

IGNITION APPARATUS Filed Oct. l5, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEY IGNITION APPARATUS Filed Oct. l5, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented vApr. 8, 1947 'Jakob R. Frei, Sidney, N. Y.,fasgig'noi to Bertani f Aviation Corporation, 4New York, N. x.a cori-1 y poration of Delaware Application kOctober 15,1942, Serial 462,127

' isclaims. iol;4 171+zo9 This invention relates .to ignition apparatus Y and more particularly to supercharged ignition devices and pump means therefor.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a novel magneto-generatorembodying pump means for maintaining the air in the interior thereof under' pressure.

Another object is to provide an ignition apparatus having a novel arrangement of elements whereby said apparatus is supercharged.

A further object is to provide a novel magneto-generator having a distributor compartment and means drivably connected to 'the mein rotor shaft for superchargng said compartment.

Still another object is to provide a novel pump apparatus adapted to be operatively mounted and assembled in a novel manner relative to the drive means therefor so as to eliminate any possibility of binding of the movable pumping members and so as to maintain efficiency losses due to leakage during compression at a minimum.

A. still further object is to provide ignition apparatus having a supercharged chamber' and a high tension conductor leading into said chamber and novel means whereby arcing from said conductor is minimized and said conductor and its terminal are kept dry.

Still another object is to provide a compact and efficient pump apparatus combined in a novel manner with the main rotor shaft of a magneto for Magneto generator."

l Fig. 3 isV a sectional view, with Lpyarts broken kawa-vtaken substantially alongline 3-f3 of Fig.

1 and showing thekk supercharger construction;

Fig. 4v is an enlarged fragmentary view-oi a poru tion of a, magneto similar to that shown in Fig, l. having a modified form of 4pump.apparatus operw atively mounted thereim; y

Fig.- 5 is. av sectional view, withy yparts rpresen away, taken substantially along line 5,--5 of Fig. 4;and i. e.

Fig. 6 is a similar view taken substantially along line B-G of Fig. 4. f

Referring to Figs. 1 to 3, the inventionis` illustrated, by way of example, Ias embodied in a magnetoegenerator of a .typevgeneraily similar in constructon to that shown in the Waiter J. Spengler .Patent No. 2,104,140 of ,January 4, i938,

The magnetofgenerator in the form illustrated` is provided with a housing I D comprising 'a pairV of .longitudinally spaced main sections Ilia and 10b ksecured end to end A front cover member llv is mountedon the outer end'ofs'ection Iaand cooperates ,with side whereby air under pressure may be delivered to any portion of the interior of said magneto.

The above and further objects and novel features of the invention will more fully appear from the following detailed description when the same is read in connection with the accompanying drawings. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended to define the limits of the invention, reference for this latter purpose being had primarily to the appended claims.

In the drawings, wherein `like reference characters refer .to like parts throughout Vthe several views,

Fig. l is an elevation View, with parts broken away and with parts shown in section, of a magneto-generator embodying one form of the present invention; f y' Fig. 2 is a sectional view, with parts broken away, taken substantially along line 2-2 of Fig. i and showing apparatus suitable foreiecting the admission and discharge of air to and from the supercharger pump;

iully described hereinafter.` ylower end of housing vvi0 -soas to extend longitum -wailiZ of ythelatter to :form a compartment ila :for receiving asuitable gear driveto be1more Mounted-in the dinally therethrough is afmain yrotor shaft i! which is suitably'journaled for'rotittionfin bear ing means carriedrby said housing.y The bearing means preferably comprse a' pair lof bail bearings I4 provided adjacent'lto the shaft ends, one of said bearings being-shown in Fig. 1 mounted in `wall i2 andthe other (not'shown) being suitably'sup-n ported in housing section 10b. The fforward 'end ofsaid shaft projectsv through chamber Haand covermember il and has asuitable drivingrne'mber, such asa` gearv I5, mounted thereon, ywhich gear may befdrivably connected 'to the cranio1 kof a. current conductingy connector v25? shaft of an internal combustion engine. i

' Secured to rotor shaft I3 for rotation therewith is a multiple pole magnetic vrotor i6 which^oooperates in a manner well understood vin the art with a pair of stationary laminated pole cie Il, only portionsy of which are 'showm ant nition coil' I8, the`- latter'being supported said rotor by ysaid pole piecesand` covered strapped-on f housing section Ille., y Canne the high `tension winding ofy sind coil isa pressed terminal ii which constitutes snel..

l muy being. mounted m 'ak distributor modifi i y, stitute the central electrode thereonvf The tributo: block, inl the form illustrated, is secured auasos between housing sections Ila and Ilc to form the right-hand wall, as viewed in Fig. l. of a distributor chamber 22. A gasket 24 is preferably interposed between the engaging portions of :aid distributor block and said housing section to render the connection between the latter fluid-tight.

Mounted in chamber 22 for cooperation with block 2I is a rotatable distributor element or finger 24 which carries a central or axial contact 25 adapted to be in continuous brushing engagement with electrode 2li during rotation of said finger. A peripheral contact 2l mounted in the outer end of said finger connects electrically with contact 25 and is adapted to successively cooperate in a well known manner with s. plurality of annularly disposed contacts 21 carried by block 2|. In order to rotate finger 24, a distributor rotor 2l extends through wall I2 and is journaled in said wall by suitable bearings 2l. The inner end of said rotor is provided with a flange III to which said finger is rigidly secured and the outer end thereof projects into compartment IIa. An inwardly extending flange or sleeve II is formed with wall I2 to surround rotor 24 and serves as a socket for a suitable fluid seal 22 which has the inner periphery thereof engaging a sleeve I3 mounted on said rotor, said sleeve being in fluidtight engagement with the latter. A passage 34 is preferably provided in wall I2 to connect the space between the outer wall of said seal and bearings 29 with chamber I Ia and thereby prevent a back pressure from being built up in said space whichwould tend to prevent proper lubricating of the bearings.

Distributor rotor 28 is preferably driven by a gear drive contained in compartment IIa, which drive comprises a gear 31 rigidly secured to said rotor by suitable means, such as a screw Il and a key 39. Gear 31 is in mesh with a pinion 4U which is splined to magneto rotor shaft I3 so that the rotary distributor member is driven in timed relation with the magneto rotor.

In order to supercharge the interior of distributor chamber 22 and thereby better adapt the apparatus for operation at high altitudes, novel pump means are provided and are arranged in a novel manner in housing Il. As shown, said pump means comprise a housing 4I eccentrically mounted around shaft I3 and rigidly secured to housing I adjacent magnetic rotor Il in a novel manner, more fully described hereinafter. Housing 4I preferably includes a cylindrical wall member 4Ia and side wall plates or members Mb which are provided with recesses for shaft Il, said recesses being bordered by outwardly extend. ing flanges or sleeves 4Ic formed with said side wall members. Sleeves 4Ic serve to mount a pair of bushings 42 which are in engagement with said shaft and have radial flanges 42a formed therewith, said flanges being mounted in indenta tions provided therefor in side walls 4Ib so that the inner end of each of bushings 42 extends slightly beyond the inner face of a side wall member 4Ib in which said bushing is carried so as to maintain a proper operating clearance between the ends of a rotor 42, which may move axially of shaft I2, and side walls 4Ib. Cylindrical pump rotor 43 is concentric with respect to shaft I3 and is keyed or otherwise secured to the latter for rotation therewith and axial movement relative thereto. The radius of rotor 4I measured from the axis of rotation of shaft I3 is preferably i11- most equal to the shortest distance separating the inner periphery of the eccentrically disposed cylindrical casing member 4 Ia and said axis so that 4 said rotor is substantially tangent to the inner surface of said wall at one point in the circumference thereof (Fig. 3).

To form a plurality of compression chambers in housing 4I, a plurality of venes or blades 44 (Fig. 3) are slidably mounted in radial slots 4I provided in rotor 43, said slots being preferably equally spaced around the periphery of said rotor and being at least as deep as the radial length of said vanes. The latter have the side edges thereof engaging side wall members 4Ib, of the housing and during operation of said rotor have the outer edges centrifugally pressed into fluid tight engagement with circumferential wall 4ia of the housing. These outer vane edges are preferably blade or wedge-shaped to effect a better over-all fluid-tight engagement with said circumferential wall. During rotation d'rotor 4l, each successive pair of vanes 44 together with housing 4I and rotor 42 deflne a fluid-tight peripheral pressure or compression chamber wherein a volume of fluid may be compressed during each rotor revolution. To admit air to each of said chambers, the left-hand side plate 4Ib, as viewed in Fig. l, is provided with an arcuate inlet port 46 (Fig. 3) which preferably has the outer edge thereof adjoining the inner surface o! wall member 4Ia and which, as shown, may subtend an angle of approximately Air is admitted to each of the chambers during the period that the chamber overlaps said inlet port and the latter is arranged so that admission is cut off shortly after the chamber has assumed its maximum volume. Thereafter, rotation of the rotor effects air compression and the compressed air is discharged from the chamber through an arcuate discharge port 41 which also adJoins the inner surface of casing member 4Ia but which subtends a relatively small angle. Port 41 is preferably located so that air discharge from each compression chamber terminates just prior to air admission into said chamber. As shown, adjacent edges of ports 44 and 41 are disposed equal angular distances on opposite sides of the point of tangency between rotor 42 and housing wall 4Ia and said edges are spaced apart an angular distance slightly greater than the angular length of each compression chamber.

In order to connect inlet port 4l to the exterior of magneto housing Il and to deliver the compressed air discharged through port 41 to the interior of distributor chamber 22, a U-shaped hollow adapter or housing 44 (Figs. l and 2) is mounted in the lower end of housing section Ila so as to partially surround shaft Il. If desired, said adapter may be cast as an integral part of casing member Ila. Ends 44a of said adapter terminate adjacent an arcuate flange 22a which constitutes the bottom wall of chamber 22 and the portions of said ends which project longitudinally beyond said flange are flared upwardly (Fig. 1) to arcuately lengthen the side of said adapter adjacent pump housing 4|. The latter side of said adapter is formed by a cover plate -48 of yieidsbie material which engages the lefthand side wall member 4Ib (Fig. 1) of said pump housing and is provided with a pair of porte Il and li which register with inlet port 4l and discharge port 41, respectively, in said side wall member. The interior of housing 44 is separated into two fluid-tight compartments l2 and Il by a wall 48h, and port 5l opens into compartment 52 while port Bl opens into compartment Il. Compartment i2 is connected by a suitable fitting 54 to the atmosphere. said tting preferably emanarco z bodving a screen or other niter for removing foreign matter from the air being admitted into said compartment. Compartment 53 connects with the interior of chamber 22 by means o! a tubular member I5 (Fig. 2) which is press-titted or otherwise secured in ilange 22a and in the end 48a of housing 48.

Housing 4I and adapter 48 are rigidly secured in operative position in housing I by being pressed or clamped between housing sections I0a and Ib. As shown in Fig. l, a shoulder 56 formed on the interior of section Ib bears against a spacer element 51 which engages the right-hand wall member 4Ib while adapter 48 engages wall I2. said adapter and pump housing being arranged so as to have the parts thereof ilxed in operative position by the pressure exerted thereon by sections Illa and IIlb when the latter are secured to each other by suitable means, such as stud bolts 51a.

Novel means are provided for lubricating the bearing surfaces of bushings 42 and shaft I3. In the form shown, liquid oil is conilned in the hollow Ia of shaft Il and is forced by centrifugal action through radially extending plugs 42h made of porous bronze or other suitable material. Oil may thus be supplied in suitable quantities to the'bearing surfaces of bushings 42 and to the adjacent walls o! the pump cylinder and rotor.

It is desirable to prevent the building up of excessive pressures in chamber 22 and to provide a continuous circulation of air therethrough. Accordingly, in the illustrated embodiment. a plurality of bleeder holes 58, preferably three in number (only one being shown in Fig. l), are arranged in a novel manner to discharge air into the interior of housing sections Ib, IIlc, said holes being located in distributor block 2i adjacent to connector so as to eject air in the vicinity of high tension terminal I9. As a result. said terminal is kept dry and arclng from said terminal to the walls of casing Il is substantially eliminated.

In operation, rotor shaft Il is driven from the engine crankshaft and actuates magnetic rotor I5 and distributor element 24 to generate and distribute high tension current to the spark plugs of the engine ignition system. Rotation of shaft I3 also actuates pump 4I, 45 and supercharges distributor chamber 22. Air is admitted to compartment 52 of adapter 48 through fitting 54, being illtered by the latter. and passes through overlapping or registering ports 50 and. 46 into one of the compression chambers formed in the pump by vanes 44, the latter being centrifugally pressed into fluid-tight engagement with peripheral housing wall 4Ia. During operation of rotor 43, the volume of each of the compression chambers is varied due to the eccentricity of housing 4I whereby the air in said chamber is compressed. The compressed air is discharged from each of said chambers through ports 41 and 5I, flowing into compartment 53 from which it is delivered by conduit 55 to chamber 22 to supercharge the latter and thereby ,prevent undesirable arcing therein and failure of the ignition system at high altitudes. To provide circulation of air in chamber 22, bleeder holes 58 discharge air therefrom and said bleeder holes are arranged so as to create streams or currents of highpressure air around terminal I9, keeping lthe latter dry and preventing arcing therefrom.

A modified pump apparatus adapted for operation in the above-described magneto unit is shown in Figs. 4 to 6 and includes a cylindrical housing I4 comprising end plates 45a and Mb and a cylindrical wall member 50c. Plates a and 50h and member "c are rigidly secured in operative relation to each other by suitable means, such as bolts 6I (Fig. 6), radially projecting lugs 82 being formed on the parts of housing l5 for receiving said bolts. Annular gaskets 85d may be interposed between the ends of housing member 60o and plates 80a and 80h to render the connection therebetween fluid-tight. Housing 60 is eccentrically mounted on main rotor shaft I3, which extends through eccentrically disposed recesses in plates a and 60h, and said housing is resiliently held against angular movement by a plurality of tubular members 55 of resilient material, such as rubber. Each of members 8l is contained in a suitable indentation 63a ln magneto housing I5 and is pressed between the walls of said indentation and pump housing 50, the same being located so as to bear against one side of one of lugs 82 and resist yleldably any tendency'of said pump housing to move angularly or radially. To positively pre-i vent more than limited angular movement of housing 60, a pair of recesses 84 are provided in magneto housing I0 for freely receiving two of lugs 62, the walls of said recesses being adapt ed to rigidly resist rotation ci housing 50 when said lugs move into engagement therewith.

Mounted in housing 60 for rotation with shaft I3 is a cylindrical pump rotor 65 which is conra centric with said shaft and is keyed or otherwise secured thereto. A plurality of vanes or blades 66 are slidably mounted in radial slots El proa vided in said rotor and spaced equal angular distances around the periphery thereof, said vanas being centrifugally pressed into huid-tight en gagement with the inner wall of member 60o when said rotor is rotated. In order to lighten the latter, a plurality of axially extending re cesses 88 may be drilled or otherwise provided in said rotor, said recesses preferably having their centers equal distances apart on a common circle concentric with the axis of rotation oi' said rotor. Said recesses may be iitted with oil soaked felt or the like and be connected with the periph ery of the rotor through openings 65a plugged with porous bronze or the like to thereby lubri" cate they interior of the pump.

Peripheral compression chambers are thug defined by vanes 86, rotor 55 and housing 8B, and air is admitted into said chambers during rotor operation through an arcuate inlet port 59 Wigs. 5-and 8) provided in plate 68a, which port opens into the space between said housing and walt I2. A recess 10 in the bottom wall of housing Ilia connects said space with the exterior of magneto housing I0 and preferably has a suit able filter 1i mounted therein for removing form eign matter from the air admitted to said space. The air compressed in the compression chambers is discharged from the latter through a discharge port 12, 13 comprising an arcuate slot 'i2 on the inner face of plate 60a andan opening 13 of circular cross-section which connects said with the exterior of said plate. A suitable hose coupling member or connection 14 is secured recess 13 and is adapted to mount one end of flexible hose or tubing 15 which has the oth end thereof connected to a second hose coup' 16, the latter being threadedly mounted in tieni' 22a to discharge air into distributor chu 22. By virtue of this connection, the compr air from pump 60, vB5 is delivered tc chamber 22 to supercharge the latter.

There is thus provided ignition apparatus having a novel arrangement of parts, including pumping means, whereby the interior of the housing of said apparatus may be supercharged. There is also provided novel pump means adapted to be operatively mounted in a magneto-generator for supercharging the distributor chamber of said generator, said pump means being mounted in a novel manner for cooperation with the main rotor shaft of said generator so as to operate without danger of binding and with a minimum loss of efficiency due to air leakage during compression. Novel means are embodied in the generator for directing air into the pump means and for delivering the pump discharge to any desired chamber or compartment of said generator. If desired, the magneto casing may be relatively air-tight and the pump may be used to supercharge the entire magneto and distributor casing. The pumping means are mounted in a novel manner so as to facilitate assembly of the parts thereof in operative position in the magneto and to permit efficient operation thereof with a minimum of wear. There is additionally provided a novel arrangement for supercharging the interior of a distributor chamber and for maintaining currents of supercharged air around i connectors leading into said chamber, whereby the connectors are kept dry and the currents carried thereby are prevented from arcing.

Although only two embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, it is to be expressly understood that the same is not limited thereto. For example, it will now be apparent to those skilled in the art that the rotor of the embodiment of Figs. 1 to 3 may be lightened by having recesses drilled therethrough or that the vanes of the embodiment of Figs. 4 and 5 may have their outer edges blade-shaped. Moreover, adapter 48 of Figs. 1 to 3 may be integrally formed with housing section l0a. Various other changes may be made in the design and arrangement of the illustrated parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For a definition of the limits of the invention, reference will be had primarily to the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In ignition apparatus having a housing including at least two sections and a drive shaft mounted insaid housing, a pump for `supercharging said housing. said pump comprising a rotor mounted on said drive shaft, centrifugally responsive vanes slidably mounted in said rotor,

and a pump casing containing said rotor and cooperating with the latter and said vanes to define a plurality of pressure chambers, and adapter means adjoining said pump for admitting air to said pressure chambers and for delivering the compressed air from said chambers to a predetermined portion of said housing, said pump and adapter means being clamped in operative position between said housing sections.

2. In apparatus including a housing and a drive shaft in said housing, pump means for supercharging the interior of said housing comprising a pump casing supported by said shaft in eccentric relation thereto, a pump rotor concentrically mounted on said shaft for rotation therewith, and a plurality of centrlfugally actuated vanes slidably mounted in said rotor for engagement with said casing, and means for securing said casing against rotation comprising lugs formed on said casing, indentations in said housing cooperating with said lugs to positively limit the angular movement of said casing and members mounted in said housing to engage said casing and yieldably resist any angular movement of the latter.

3. In apparatus having a housing wherein a rotary shaft is mounted, a compartment formed in said housing, an air pump operated by and mounted on said shaft within said housing between spaced bearings for said shaft, and means connecting the inlet port of said pump to the housing exterior and the discharge port of said pump to said compartment.

4. In apparatus having a housing and a rotary shaft mounted in said housing, a chamber in said housing, a pump apparatus having a rotor mounted on said shaft intermediate the ends of the latter, and adaptor means mounted in said housing and adjoining said pump apparatus, said means forming chambers for admitting air to said pump apparatus from the housing exterior and for delivering the entire discharge of said pump apparatus to said first-named chamber.

5. In a magneto-generator having a housing wherein are mounted a main rotor shaft, a distributor and a connector for delivering high tension current to said distributor, a compartment for said distributor formed in said housing, said connector extending through the wall of said compartment and having a terminal on the exterior thereof, a pump mounted on said rotor shaft for supercharging said compartment, and at least one bleeder port in said compartment wall adjacent said connector for discharging air from said compartment in the vicinity of said connector terminal to maintain the latter dry and prevent arcing therefrom.

6. In a magneto-generator having a housing wherein are mounted a distributor, a magnetic rotor, a shaft for said rotor, a coil cooperating with said rotor and a conductor connecting the high tension winding of said coil to said distributor, a compartment for said distributor formed in said housing, said conductor extending through the wall of said compartment, a pump mounted on said rotor shaft, means for conducting the discharge of said pump to said compartment to supercharge the latter, and means comprising at least one vent passage in the wall of said compartment for discharging air therefrom, said vent passage being located to emit a stream of high pressure air from said compartment adjacent to the Connection between said conductor and winding.

7. In a magneto-generator having a supercharged chamber and a conductor carrying current into said chamber from a terminal on the exterior of said chamber, a plurality of air bleeder passages formed in the chamber wall around said conductor so as to form currents of supercharged air on the exterior of said chamber adjacent to said conductor and the terminal therefor.

8. In ignition apparatus having a main rotor shaft, a distributor compartment, and means for delivering high tension current into said compartment including a connector on the exterior of the latter, a pump mounted on said rotor shaft for supercharging said compartment, and means comprising at least one vent passage in the wall of said compartment for discharging air therefrom, said vent passage being located to create a stream of high pressure air adjacent to said connector.

9. In apparatus of the -`class described, a rototable shaft having an axially extending recess therein for containing lubricating oil, a stationary member having a bearing 'surface surroundrounding atmosphere, means including a terminal for supplying electric current to a conductor inside said compartment, and means for discharging said gaseous medium from said compartment in the immediate vicinity of said terminal.

11. In apparatus of the class described, rotatable means having a recess therein for containing a lubricating medium, a passage in said rotatable means connecting said recess with the periphery of said means, and porous metallic means in said passage through which said lubricating medium may be driven by centrifugal force during rotation of said rotatable means.

12. In apparatus including a housing and a drive shaft mounted in said housing, means for supercharging the interior of said housing comprising a pump casing supported by said shaft in eccentric relation thereto, a pump rotor supported by said shaftwithin the casing, means to limit the angular'movement of the casing when the rotor turns comprising resilient members located between said housing and said casing for resiliently lresisting any such angular movement of the casing, and means connecting the high pressure side of the pump to the interior of the housing.

13. In apparatus of the class described a housing having a relatively fluid-tight compartment, a shaft, means in said housing for supporting said shaft, a rotary fluid pressure pump for supplying air under pressure to said compartment comprising a cylindrical casing eccentrically and irrevolubly disposed about said shaft and a rotor in said casing fixedly mounted on said shaft, and means to connect the high pressure part of the pump tof the compartment.

14. In apparatus of the class described a housing, spaced bearings therein, a shaft .iournalled in said spaced bearings. pump means comprising a casing within which said shaft is adapted to rotate,`and resilient means to linut the angular movement oi the casing about the shaft.

15. In apparatus of the class described a housing, a shaft Journalled therein, a pump casing mounted on said shaft in said housing, a rotor secured to said shaft within said casing. means for limiting axial movement of said casing on said shaft, and means for limiting angular movement of said casing relative to said housing.

16. In apparatus of the class described a housing having a relatively duid-tight compartment, a shaft, two spaced bearings in said housing for supporting said shaft, and a rotary fluid pressure pump mounted between said bearings for supplying air under pressure to said compartment. said pump comprising a cylindrical casing eccentrically disposed about said shaft, means to limit the angular movement of said casing relative to said housing, a'rotor operatively disposed in said casing and rigidly secured to said shaft, and means to conduct the fluid under pressure from the pump to the compartment.

JAKOB R. FREI.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,465,881 'Iheons Aug. 21. 1923 2,142,275 Lane Jan. 3, 1939 2,293,692 Wylie Aug. 18, 1942 2,324,903 Beckman July 20, 1943 2,328,717 Glasner Sept. 7, 1943 2,335,284 Kendrick Nov. so, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 264,430 Britain Jan. 20, 1927 

